Calanor's story repository
by Calanor
Summary: My holding area for story ideas I don't intend to continue anytime soon.
1. FoZ - TDE: Fire in the Void 1

**Author's note:** This is intended to be a collection of story projects I began over the years but abandoned for one reason or another. Category is miscellaneous anime X-overs because it seemed appropriate, but there will be non-anime non-crossovers in the future.

Perhaps I will continue one of the stories presented here at some point in the future, but don't hold your breath. Whenever I don't have time to write anything for my on-going stories for too long I will try to get one of my old story ideas cleaned up and post it here.

* * *

**Fire in the Void**

**A Familiar of Zero/The Dark Eye Crossover**

**Chapter 1**

'_I don't want to die.'_

His death was slow, but inevitable. He lacked the power to heal himself. He had used all he had. The trickle of returning astral power was too little to do him any good.

'_I don't want to die.'_

He was slowly bleeding out, the corruption eating into his flesh from where his body had been ripped open.

'_I don't want to die.'_

His friend, the only true friend he had ever made, was no more. Just like him he had sacrificed himself for their self-appointed mission.

'_I don't want to die.'_

Nobody was coming. His call had gone unheard. He was dying and nobody was coming. Their mission was a failure in the end.

'_I don't want to die.'_

An idea appeared. He had to get to a place with abundant astral power that was always in reach. The silent grey. It was brilliant. It was insane. He would have to work with magic he barely understood, use his own life to fuel it until he stood at the very brink of death. Most likely he would kill himself in the attempt.

'_I don't want to die.'_

The wish to live won out. His chances to pull it off were low, but it was still better than having no chance at all. With an effort of will fueled by desperation he began.

Life became magic. Magic turned into threads. Threads became a weave.

He quickly grew weaker and weaker as his remaining strength was drained away. Then, when just a flicker remained, he released the magic that couldn't really be called a proper spell. He had the smallest amount of time to realize that something had gone terribly wrong before the world ripped apart and the beyond swallowed him.

* * *

'_I don't want to fail.'_

Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, third daughter of the Duke de La Vallière, sank to her knees and folded her hands in prayer, closing her eyes at the same time.

'_Oh Great Founder Brimir, please grant me this one request. Please, please let me succeed tomorrow.'_

Tomorrow the Springtime Familiar Summoning Ritual would take place. All students of the renowned Tristain Academy of Magic had to summon a familiar at the beginning of their second year. Once bound the familiar would serve as a companion, guard and helper. For those students who had not yet determined their favored element the nature of the summoned creature would shed light on the matter. Animals were the most common, but magical beasts like dragons while rare were far from unheard of. The familiar reflected the power and nature of the mage.

There was only one problem: Louise was a failure as a mage. She had not cast a single successful spell in her entire life. Now, she wasn't exactly without magic. All her attempts at casting spells did _something_. Unfortunately that something was always an explosion.

Only ceaseless, diligent work in the theoretical subjects had allowed her to stay at the academy despite her complete failure in practical spellwork. Tomorrow that way of dealing with the problem would be impossible. Without a familiar she would be expelled from the academy. That meant she would have to return to her family in disgrace.

Louise didn't want to think what her parents would do in that case. Magic was the sign of nobility. For her to lack that most important trait… it didn't bear thinking about. She couldn't fail at this; she just couldn't. And so she prayed.

'…_and please help my elder sister Cattleya to recover from her illness.' _she finished her prayer with the same plea as always.

Louise opened her eyes, stood up and looked around. The chapel in the southern tower of the academy was deserted at this time of the evening. The deacon had retired a month ago and there was some delay with appointing his replacement. All the other students were currently dining in the Alviss hall in the central tower of the academy. Louise didn't want to face them and their taunts, not today.

Instead she had sought refuge in the serenity of the chapel. The statue of the Founder Brimir stood behind the altar, a benevolent smile on its face vaguely sculpted in the likeness of one of Tristania's previous kings. The windows made of stained glass depicting the Founder's deeds caught the evening sun, immersing the room in colored light.

At the back of the room were the statuettes of the individual gods, almost hidden behind the altar dedicated to the greater god they were aspects of. Nobles were supposed to pray to the Founder in his role as mediator to the divine and bearer of the holy Void or Queen Marianne in her role as the god-appointed monarch of Tristain, not the individual gods.

In spite of that Louise made a circuit around the room, stopping briefly before each statuette and offering a short prayer. It wasn't exactly forbidden by the scripture, just frowned upon by the priesthood. She figured she needed all the help she could get. Then she left as quietly as she had come.

Once in the privacy of her room Louise went over the notes for the summoning spell again. She had studied it at great length and knew everything by heart, but it wouldn't do to overlook some detail.

She dared not hope for something impressive like a griffin or her mother's manticore. An eagle or an owl would be enough. A cat would be nice, too. Heck, even a mouse would suffice. Old Osmond's familiar was a field mouse and the man was the headmaster of the academy as well as a renowned square-class earth mage.

A knock on the door interrupted her musings. One of the castle maids had come to deliver the meal she had missed just as arranged beforehand. Louise barely tasted anything when she forced the soup down. The mounting tension seemed to tie her stomach into knots, but she knew better than to go without food.

As soon as Louise finished eating she went over the summoning spell again. She barely noticed the maid returning to collect the tableware. When the sun finally sank beyond the horizon Louise sighed, put away her notes and got ready for bed. A sip from a mild sleeping draught she had purchased served to calm her nerves. Soon she sank into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Loud knocking woke her up. "Miss Vallière, please wake up."

"I'm awake, I'm awake." Louise replied groggily as soon as she got her bearings. A look out of the window showed her that the sky was still dark.

'_Just as planned.' _she thought before a yawn threatened to overwhelm her.

Louise managed to get to the castle baths without encountering another student. She was the first in the Alviss dining hall as well. Two thin slices of fresh bread, a cup of diluted wine and an apple were all she managed to eat. The tension inside her was mounting again. By the time the next students arrived she was already leaving the hall. The next two hours she spent in her room, going again over the summoning spell.

The time to leave arrived far too soon. Heaving a heavy sigh, Louise carefully checked that she had her wand on her person before leaving her room. A crowd of second year students had already gathered at the academy gate, waiting for the teacher to arrive. Louise kept her head down. She didn't want to talk with anybody. It wasn't as if she had any friends in the first place.

By the time Mr. Colbert, the teacher assigned to supervising the summoning ritual arrived Louise felt like a nervous wreck. Her stomach seemed to be performing somersaults or clenching painfully. Fortunately the other students were too busy speculating about the wonderful familiars they would summon to pay her any attention.

"Is everyone here?" Mr. Colbert asked. "Wonderful, please follow me."

It took them a few minutes to arrive at their destination, a grassy field bordered by a small lake some distance from the academy. Apparently some unfortunate incidents in the pasts involving especially wild and dangerous familiars made that necessary.

Then the summoning began. Louise's nervousness grew as more and more of her classmates successfully summoned their familiars. Most were normal animals like cats or owls, but a few stood out. Mr. Colbert went around the crowd and gave a few words of advice to the new owners of the familiars while the next student got ready. He seemed almost as enthusiastic as the students about each summoning.

The skirt chaser Guiche de Gramont caused a storm of laughter when his 'most amazing familiar in the history of the school' turned out to be a giant mole the size of a small bear.

That insufferable Germanian harlot Kirche von Zerbst summoned an extraordinarily large fire salamander, something which led to no small amount of gloating on her part as well as applause and envious stares from the other students.

Tabitha, the Gallian girl with no family name who never spoke to anyone aside from von Zerbst summoned a young wind dragon. A real, honest-to-god dragon.

Mr. Colbert clapped his hands, followed by the rest of the class. "Marvelous, Miss Tabitha, simply marvelous. It has been two years since a student summoned a dragon."

The girl simply nodded silently and retreated back to Kirche's side. The wind dragon followed more slowly, looking around curiously. The envious stares of the entire crowd followed the pair.

Finally it was Louise's turn when no one else was left and she couldn't delay the moment of truth any longer. Her stomach knotted painfully and she felt like retching. She could hear the disparaging remarks when she made her way to the empty space in front of the crowd.

"It's Louise the Zero." "What do you think is she going to summon? An earthworm?" "I'm sure she can't. It'll be another explosion and that'll be it."

The crowd fell silent after a glare from Mr. Colbert. "Please begin, Miss Vallière."

'_Please, please, oh please, Founder and all of you gods let me succeed here.' _Louise thought when she began the incantation. She poured everything she had into the spell, every bit of pride and hope and every scrap of fear she held in her heart. "Pentagon of the five elemental powers, heed my summoning and bring forth my familiar!" she finished.

For a second nothing happened and Louise's insides seemed to freeze. Then the world exploded.

* * *

'_Wrong. Everything is wrong.'_

He didn't know where he was. It was not the silent grey. There was nothing here, only void. That and power. His wounds were healed, his reserves filled. Unfortunately he found himself unable to leave. His spells found no purchase.

There was no telling how long he had been here already. It might have been eons. It might have been mere minutes. He was tired, so very, very tired, but he was unable to go to sleep. In the long run this might turn out to be worse than death.

Suddenly something appeared in the void. Drifting closer, he identified it as an unfamiliar kind of magic. He didn't understand the particulars, but it looked like some sort of summoning spell. That meant he was in a sort of environment similar to the silent grey, a place in-between proper worlds. Since the spell ignored him he apparently didn't fit the summoning criteria.

'_Maybe I can use it to get out of here.'_

Not knowing what he was doing had gotten him here. Maybe it would get him out again, too. He immediately began pushing his own magic into the spell, distorting its structure. In the next moment it snaked around and made contact before dragging him away violently.

* * *

Louise coughed. The damn smoke from the explosion was everywhere. Her eyes stung and threatened to tear up, but that wasn't the smoke's fault alone.

'_Not again… Please, don't let me have failed again.'_

She could hear the others recovering from the explosion, the first disparaging remarks being uttered. Her fist clenched around her wand so tightly her knuckles turned white. Then she heard the sound. It reminded her of breathing in, but at the same time it sounded somehow wrong. It came from somewhere above her.

A sudden gust of wind drove the smoke away, forcing her to close her eyes. When she opened them again she was looking at a wall of gold. In the next moment a hissing sound came from above and a gust of hot air smelling strongly of smoke hit her from the same direction.

Louise took a step back and looked up. Then she looked a bit higher, craning her neck. Large slitted crimson eyes met her gaze for a moment. Louise got the impression that the owner was disoriented. Then the creature broke eye-contact and began taking in its surroundings, its head swinging around on a neck as thick as a tree. Several familiars had displayed a similar attitude. Only now did she realize what the creature was.

'_A dragon. I summoned a dragon.'_

For a moment Louise simply stared. The dragon was enormous. She was too close to make out the scale properly. The golden wall was simply the dragon's chest. It was completely covered in scales of bright yellow gold that glittered in the sun and looked almost polished.

Turning her head left and right she could make out what had to be the dragon's forelegs. That impression was proven correct when it stood up. It had apparently appeared directly in front of her, lying on the ground. Once again she was awed by the dragon's size. She could walk under it without hitting her head against its belly.

The crushing tension disappeared. Giggles bubbled up in Louise's throat, but she suppressed the urge to laugh madly or break out in tears of relief. This was the moment of her greatest triumph. Then another thought entered her head.

'_What if this is a dream?'_

She could imagine it in perfect clarity. Any moment she would wake up to an empty meadow and the laughter and derision of her peers.

Stepping carefully closer, Louise hesitantly put a hand on one of the massive legs. The scales were smooth, hard and very hot, like stones that had been lying in the sun for hours. They were also comfortably real.

'_The dragon is really there. I really did it.'_

Louise couldn't help herself: She threw her arms around the dragon's leg and pressed herself against it. The scales dug uncomfortably into her face, but she didn't care. Now, for the first time in her life, all was right with the world.

* * *

Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt-Zerbst stared open-mouthed. She wasn't the only one. Everyone present did the same. Louise de La Vallière had summoned a dragon. Louise the Zero, the failure who could never get any spell right, had summoned a dragon. Agenuine _dragon_.

It was a truly magnificent creature, graceful despite its colossal size. More than twice the size of her friend Tabitha's wind dragon, if Kirche wasn't mistaken. It was the second-largest dragon she had ever seen and built more massive. The Germanian emperor's menagerie at Vindobona kept a truly enormous fire dragon that was larger than Louise's dragon, but that was the only one that came to mind.

'_I wonder what breed it is. I never heard of a dragon species with golden scales.'_

Still, there was a more important matter to consider. Kirche looked at the fire salamander she had summoned. Then she looked back at the dragon. Fire Salamander. Dragon. Fire Salamander. Dragon.

Finally she let out a nearly inaudible sigh. "You win this round, Vallière." she muttered. Then she chuckled. "Perhaps now you can live up to being my rival. It gets so boring here and we have a family tradition to uphold."

Kirche began clapping her hands loudly. That sufficed to shake the others out of their stupor. After a few moments they joined in the clapping, hesitantly at first, than with increasing fervor until it developed into thunderous applause. Louise was disliked for her high and mighty attitude, especially in combination with her inability to back up her arrogance with magical prowess, but this was an indisputable success. It deserved recognition.

Personally Kirche found Louise's explosive temper in reaction to taunts adorable. During the first year they had been in different classes, but this year they would be together. In light of the dragon it promised to be _interesting_.

Suddenly a gust of flame escaped the dragon's maw and it looked agitated. Fortunately it calmed down almost immediately, continuing its survey of the crowd.

'_Huh, it is apparently some breed of fire dragon. Little Louise shares an element with me. How unexpected.'_

Tabitha's dragon let out a long-drawn-out "Kyuuu!" and looked as if it wanted to walk over to the bigger dragon, but Tabitha stopped it by holding her staff in front of it.

Finally the applause died down. Louise was still hugging the dragon's leg. Considering that Guiche was still snuggling with his mole and how she must be feeling that wasn't unexpected, but even the dragon seemed to get curious and moved its head downward to examine Louise more closely.

Mr. Colbert loudly cleared his throat after a minute. "Congratulations, Miss Vallière. A splendid display. Please continue with the ceremony and bind your familiar."

"Oh… of course, Mr. Colbert." Louise took a few moments to compose herself after separating herself from the dragon. Then she began chanting. "My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the five elemental powers; bless this being, and make it my familiar." She repeated the words over and over and touched the dragon's head with her wand. Finally she placed a kiss on its snout to seal the contract.

For a moment nothing seemed to happen. Then the dragon roared and spat fire into the air. A strong gust of hot wind hit Kirche and the other students, making their clothes flutter. Then it was over as quickly as it had begun and the dragon settled down, although it began inspecting its left foreleg.

"That was quick." Mr. Colbert said happily. He approached the dragon and examined the same appendage. Being one of the closest to them Kirche could barely make out the words. "Hm, the runes are there, but I can't read them. The sheen of the scales distorts their shape too strongly. Still, the binding was obviously successful. Well done, Miss Vallière." Turning around, he addressed the gathered students. "Let's get back to the academy, everyone."

Kirche trailed a bit behind the crowd. Everyone was busy with their own familiar and she was no exception. Her fire salamander was rubbing against her side, the tail with the flame at its end swinging widely. A flame this vivid and large meant that it came from the Fire Dragon Mountains. Those salamanders were rare and highly sought after by collectors. Not that she would ever even consider selling her familiar.

She had been very happy when she had summoned him, but in light of the golden monstrosity walking in front of her it didn't seem that special anymore. Why couldn't she have summoned such a magnificent dragon?

Kirche stopped dead in her tracks. _'Am I actually jealous of Louise?'_

It was a disturbing thought, but she couldn't deny it. She wished to be in Louise's place. That had never happened before, not with Louise or with anyone else.

Suddenly her salamander let out a cry of distress. When Kirche turned towards him he gave her a sad look of betrayal.

'_Did he somehow feel what I was thinking? Is the familiar bond already this strong?'_

Kirche immediately went to her knees and put her arms around the salamander's neck. "Oh, I don't mean it. You are a wonderful familiar and I'm very happy to have you."

That seemed to do the trick for the moment. The salamander purred happily. Kirche stood up and slowly continued on her way, deep in thought. She was actually jealous of someone.

She almost walked into the student in front of her before she noticed that the crowd had come to a halt. The dragon was so large that it blocked the entire road and she couldn't see what the problem was.

Then she realized the reason. The dragon was too big to fit through the gate. In fact, it was so large it could easily look over the wall. Suddenly the dragon turned and began walking alongside the wall, sending students and familiars scrambling to get out of its way.

"Hey, what are you doing? Come back here!" Louise shouted, but the dragon didn't pay her the slightest amount of attention. Once it was a short distance from the road it laid down, curled up and went to sleep.

* * *

Louise stared at her sleeping familiar, one eyebrow twitching in irritation. The dragon had simply walked away and lain down without paying her any attention.

'_Stupid familiar, simply going to sleep.'_

Mr. Colbert coughed, but it sounded suspiciously like he was hiding a laugh. "Well, I suppose that takes care of that matter for the moment."

Louise nodded, her irritation fading. Her familiar was totally awesome. Unfortunately its immense size created some problems. There was no place in the stables for anything the size of an adult dragon, let alone one of her familiar's size. The academy did have several large yards and gardens, but there wasn't really enough free unused space anywhere either. Case in point, her familiar couldn't even get through the gate.

'_I suppose it could fly into the yard. If it can fly, that is. Those wings look a bit too small to carry its weight.'_ Louise thought critically. That would be a shame, but it wasn't something she would get worked up about. Her beautiful and powerful familiar was simply too awesome for that.

Considerably larger than any dragon she had ever seen, her familiar was an imposing sight even when curled up to sleep. Once again Louise wondered what kind of dragon it was. Aside from the size and scale color there were other differences. Proportions were slightly off. The wings, while still enormously large, were smaller in relation to the body than on the dragon breeds she was familiar with. The head was missing the typical beak and faintly resembled a crocodile, like the one one of the older students had summoned last year. It had more horns at the back of its head than Tabitha's dragon, too. Like the claws they were of a pearly-white color instead of Tabitha's dragon's pitch black. The ridge on its back had more small horns sticking out, but there was more than enough space for an entire group of people to sit.

Louise would have to hit the library to figure out what species it was... and its gender, for that matter. Of course, I was possible she wouldn't find anything. It wouldn't be the first time someone summoned a type of creature that was unknown in Halkeginia. At least the fire breath and body temperature left little doubt regarding the dragon's and her own elemental affinity.

"Is it really alright for my familiar to stay out here, Mr. Colbert?"

"For now, yes. A dragon being summoned happens only every few years. The academy isn't really equipped to deal with them." the nearly bald teacher explained. He paused. "Especially not one of such unprecedented size."

Louise preened while a crowd gathered around them to look at her dragon. The early returners had already spread the news and more and more people were coming out to watch. Tabitha and her dragon were standing beside Louise and Mr. Colbert, but she didn't seem to care that Louise had upstaged her.

Then the blue-haired girl silently pointed at the nearby forest.

Mr. Colbert nodded. "Yes, that is the easiest solution. We used it in past years. Dragons need a lot of space. Since those summoned in the ritual are untamed they will be fine on their own. You may bring them to the academy from time to time, especially to feed them or for a night now or then, but they are really better placed away from other people until you can establish a proper relationship. Remember, dragons are prideful beasts and easily angered. That reminds me…" he turned towards the gate guards. "Make sure nobody approaches the dragon without Miss Vallière present to supervise. We don't want any regrettable accidents."

Louise nodded in acknowledgement, but her eyes were still on her dragon. She just couldn't get enough of it.

"Oh my, what wonderful familiars. Not one but two dragons, and one of them such an impressive specimen." somebody loudly exclaimed. Turning slightly, Louise spotted the origin of the voice. It was Mrs. Chevreuse, the teacher who would teach the basic and some of the advanced earth elemental classes this year. She was a middle-aged woman dressed in a voluminous purple robe and wearing a large hat. She had a plump, round face with a perpetually friendly expression on it. She had returned to teach at the academy after a three-year absence. "Who do they belong to?"

"Miss Tabitha summoned the wind dragon. Miss Vallière summoned the golden one. It seems to be some unknown breed of fire dragon." Mr. Colbert replied.

"Well, it looks that the Springtime Familiar Summoning was a great success. I always enjoy seeing the new familiars. It seems we can expect great things from you, Miss Vallière, Miss Tabitha."

Tabitha showed no reaction aside from a curt nod. Louise blushed at the praise. "Thank you, Mrs. Chevreuse. I will do my best."

Mrs. Chevreuse gave her a kind smile. "I have no doubt about it. Do you have any idea why your familiar is sleeping? Is it a nocturnal species?"

Louise shook her head. "I don't know. I got the impression it was very tired when I tried to see through its eyes on the way back here."

"Oh, you can understand what it is feeling? That's wonderful. The abilities you can access through the familiar bond vary greatly between familiars. Some familiars even gain human speech."

Mr. Colbert nodded. "Yes, an emotional bond is the most common when it comes to dragon familiars. Don't be surprised if you can't see through the dragon's eyes, Miss Vallière. As to the dragon, my best guess is that it came home from a hunt and is in need of rest. Or perhaps its species hibernates and it was still too cold in its home. Five years ago there was a large white bear that needed some time to grow used to Tristain's climate."

"Well, I shall be off. There are classes to prepare." Mrs. Chevreuse said. She had barely taken any steps before she once again spotted another familiar to catch her interest. "Is that a giant mole? What a beauty!"

"Yes, that is my cute little Verdandi." came Guiche's reply.

'_I will have to come up with a good name.'_ Louise realized.

"Miss Vallière, now that we know your elemental affinity can I expect to see you in my advanced course on non-destructive use of fire magic?" Mr. Colbert asked, interrupting her train of thought.

Louise readily agreed. Mr. Colbert was one of the nicer teachers if a bit strange and excitable at times. She could only hope her magic would work now that she had a proper familiar, but she wasn't about to put it to the test right now. She didn't want to destroy the mood with a failure.

The girl remained at the gate until she had to leave for the next class. For once she was the object of praise and admiration, not ridicule. She wanted it to savor as much as she could. Even the headmaster showed up at one point to take a look at her familiar.

The class was only an orientation for the available courses of the second year. Most students had already chosen, but some had discovered their element only now. Louise put her name down for all the advanced fire courses in addition to all the theoretical and non-magical subjects. If her magic remained unstable she would need all the extra credit she could get. There was no sense in taking chances.

Louise grimaced slightly when she took a look at the class roster. For the basic mandatory courses the students of her year were separated into three classes. These classes were newly assembled each year. Unfortunately this year Louise would have to put up not only with the insufferable Kirche von Zerbst but also with Montmorency de Montmorency. The blond girl had a sharp tongue and Louise was one of her preferred targets. At least she was rid of Beatrice de Guldenhorf.

Dinner passed without anything of note happening. None of the students mocked Louise, but they didn't try to really make nice with her either. There were plenty of appraising looks and whispers, though. Kirche's thoughtful expression was perhaps the most unsettling.

'_They are biding their time, waiting to see if the summoning was a fluke.'_

Louise was in no hurry to find out, at least not anywhere her peers would witness the outcome of the attempt. If her magic had somehow been fixed this would be the turning point of her life. If she failed again… well, at least she would be able to graduate from the academy and an impressive familiar was nothing to sneeze at.

The first thing Louise did after finishing dinner was visiting the academy chapel. _'Founder Brimir, Queen Marianne, God and all your aspects, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for helping me succeed.'_

When Louise closed the door of her room behind her she sagged in relief. Then she threw herself on her bed and giggled. "I did it. I really did it."

The most important day of her life had passed and she had not failed. In fact, she had succeeded beyond her wildest dreams. Even if she continued to fail in spellwork, this one day when she had been the envy of all her peers could never be taken from her. The feeling of elation remained with Louise until she finally fell asleep, her dreams filled with golden dragons.

* * *

**Author's note: **My thanks to my beta who made this chapter readable (and who really should make an account here so I can name you). Chapter 2 will be uploaded soon, explanations as to the originally projected storyline will be added there.


	2. FoZ - TDE: Fire in the Void 2

**Fire in the Void**

**Chapter 2**

Irukuku pouted. Her summoner was so mean. Not only had she forbidden her to speak when in the vicinity of humans, she had all sorts of other demands. Instead of sleeping at this early hour she had been sent to fetch some books from the nearest big human settlement. The clothing she had been forced to wear itched, too. She was unsure why she needed it in the first place.

'_This isn't what I wanted. I could simply fly away…'_

Then again, Irukuku didn't know where her family was in relation to her.

'_Perhaps I shouldn't have entered the portal...'_

The elders had warned her against doing such a thing, but she had always been curious about humans, knowing them only from tales. She knew the portals that appeared from time to time were gateways to the lands inhabited by them. When one appeared in front of her she had immediately entered it before one of the elders could do something about it.

She wasn't quite sure what had happened after that. From one moment to the next she had been surrounded by humans. The human girl closest to her had done something to her, her body had become all hot and runes had appeared on her paw. She had been very confused, but she knew better than to simply speak up in such a crowd.

Irukuku had still been overwhelmed by all the things happening when the big golden dragon appeared. Even Great-Grandmother wasn't that big. She had wanted to talk but couldn't with all the humans around. Then he had simply gone to sleep before she got an opportunity.

She had talked with her summoner Tabitha, though. The human had immediately known that she was a Rhyme dragon. She shivered. Her summoner had such a cold gaze. She didn't dare to act against her commands… which was the reason she was now on the way to a place were more humans lived while wearing a human form instead of sleeping. Fortunately her big sister had shown her how to use human clothing when she taught her the transformation some time ago. Otherwise she would still be sitting in the woods. Figuring out what went were with human clothing was _hard_.

Finally the human settlement came into sight. "Oh!"

Irukuku stared. It was so large and there were so many humans there. When she had been flying it had looked much smaller. Finally she had seen enough. With a spring in her step she continued on her way, getting in line with all the humans walking on the road to the settlement.

Half an hour later Irukuku was hopelessly lost in the maze of buildings and alleys. There was always something new to look at and she found the layout to be hopelessly confusing. Everything was so small and there were so many humans around.

'_Did Tabitha say I should go left after the third intersection or was that right?'_

A growl of her stomach interrupted her thoughts. She immediately searched through the bag Tabitha had given her, but there were only some metal discs and a piece of paper inside. She knew the names of the books were written on the paper, but she had no idea what the metal discs were for.

"I'm hungry."

"How about you take one of my rolls?" one of the female humans standing behind a stall nearby asked. "Only five sous per piece."

"Sous?"

The human hesitated a moment before pointing. "The silver coins you are holding in your hand."

Irukuku looked at the rolls. They smelled very edible. In fact, they made her mouth water. Another growl of her stomach decided the matter. She smiled brightly at the human. "Sure."

Two dozen rolls later Irukuku was on her way again, her hunger appeased for the time being. The nice human even gave her a detailed description of what directions to take.

Ten minutes later Irukuku's mood had soured. She had found the location where she was supposed to pick up the books, but the human behind the counter refused to hand them over unless she gave him a certain number of the metal discs.

How was she supposed to know that those discs had been intended to be exchanged for the books? The human had said something about 'money', but Irukuku didn't really understand what that was about.

"How can I get money quickly?" she wondered aloud as she slowly walked through the streets.

Suddenly a human approached her, followed by another one. "Hello there, lass. Me and my friend couldn't help to overhear you. Are you in need of money?"

Irukuku nodded. "I was sent to get books, but I don't have enough money."

Both humans smiled. "We can help you with that. You just have to come with us for a moment. We will give you all the money you want."

She returned the smile. "Okay."

Irukuku mused about her experiences while being led by the two. All the humans she had encountered today were so nice. She couldn't understand why her family had always warned her about them.

Finally they arrived in a backstreet. One of the humans opened a door. "After you, lass."

Irukuku entered the room. In the next moment her vision went dark when a bag was put on her head. Before she could react something wound around her, constricting every movement.

Panicked, she tried to reassume her real form. Whatever was constricting her didn't give, digging painfully into her body. She immediately aborted the attempt.

What had she gotten herself into?

* * *

Morning dawned bright and cold. Louise had a noticeable spring in her step when she got out of bed. This was the first day of her new life. Quickly going through her morning routine, she left the room with a speed just short of hurrying.

When Louise entered the staircase she heard a particular door opening, recognizing it by sound. She immediately hastened her steps even more. She didn't want to talk with Kirche. The opportunity to lord her familiar over the redhead would be too much to resist. Unfortunately Louise was pretty sure Kirche would somehow manage to get the upper hand or make some lewd insinuation that would leave her stammering. The Germanian always did.

The first location Louise visited was the academy gate. She came to a sudden stop when she stepped through the gate. "What are you doing?"

The three guards almost fell over themselves when they jumped away from her familiar. The dragon was still sleeping peacefully.

After exchanging glances the oldest of the three men addressed her, looking nervous. "Begging your pardon, Miss Vallière. We didn't mean any harm. It's just… you see… the morning's still cold, but since it's spring we don't get to use the coal brazier anymore… well, and we can watch the gate from over here… the dragon wasn't going anywhere… we thought… "

Louise blinked. "You used my dragon to warm yourself?"

The men nodded hesitantly. Louise was honestly at a loss at how to proceed. She couldn't exactly fault the commoners' train of thought. The guards on her family's estate acted similarly. On the one hand such behavior was disrespectful and went against the order Professor Colbert had given. Not to mention that it was dangerous. She doubted the men would have had much opportunity to get away if her dragon had woken up and chosen to take exception. On the other hand she had no direct authority over the academy's servants, although a complaint of her or one of her peers would easily ruin their life if she pressed the issue. That wasn't even mentioning all the stuff she could get away with as a noble student. Not that she would do that. True nobility came with standards of behavior.

'_They are only commoners. They can't be expected to know better.'_

In the end she settled for a simple "Don't let me catch you doing it again." The grateful expressions on the men's faces were almost painful to watch.

Her familiar didn't wake up even when she none-too-gently poked it. The scales seemed to have the consistency of hardened steel. She wondered if the dragon was even capable of noticing her poking.

Louise patted the still unnamed dragon's head. "I will be back later. I hope you will be awake then."

Breakfast in the Alviss dining hall proceeded much like dinner on the day before, meaning Louise got to eat in peace. Most of the students were still too busy with their own new familiars to pay her any attention.

The first class of the days was basic earth magic. Mrs. Chevreuse went over the basics again before she demonstrated the conjuration of a few clay pebbles and transmuted them into brass.

"Is that gold, Mrs. Chevreuse?" Kirche asked, leaning over her desk.

Louise had to suppress a snort of derision. _'How typical of Kirche not to pay attention. We went over this last year. Besides, gold looks different.'_

"No, it isn't. It's plain brass. Only square-class mages are able to transmute to gold. I'm just..." Chevreuse gave a self-important cough. "A triangle mage..."

Louise's attention wandered while the class acted suitably impressed. _'I wonder what level I am.'_

There were four different levels of magical advancement for a mage in Halkeginia to achieve. The higher the level the more elements a mage could stack, enabling the use of more complex spells. Willpower requirements for less complex spells were halved with each new level. Advancement was difficult and depended on many factors, purity of blood, natural talent, training and in-depth study of magic among them.

The overwhelming majority of people in Louise's class were dot mages, meaning they could use only one element for a spell. Everyone started on that level and many never advanced beyond it, especially among the petty nobility.

Less than a quarter of Louise's peers were line mages. They could stack two elements. Most mages never exceeded line rank.

Of all the students in Louise's year only Kirche and Tabitha were triangle mages, capable of stacking three elements when casting spells. Perhaps a fifth of all mages ever reached that level, often only in their later years. Considering that the academy catered to the high nobility it was likely that almost all of Louise's classmates would one day become triangle mages.

Square mages were few and far between, the epitome of magical prowess someone could reach. Perhaps one in hundred ever managed it. Both of Louise's parents belonged to that select group.

Louise's own level… well, since her spells never worked right nobody could determine it. Although it had contributed to her nickname of Louise the Zero. Zero elements. Zero successes.

'_Not anymore. I did one thing absolutely right.'_

Louise's attention returned to the classroom just when Mrs. Chevreuse called for a volunteer to demonstrate the transmutation spell. Guiche volunteered. After an unnecessarily long and flowery speech he changed the clay pebbles into his favorite material, bronze.

The lesson continued uneventfully and the morning slowly turned into noon until the student sitting closest the window suddenly pointed outside. "Hey, what's that? Isn't that Louise's dragon? It's flying around."

That brought the lesson to a crashing halt as everyone scrambled to the windows to get a look. It took some shoving and pushing and a few not-so-accidental elbows-to-groins until Louise managed to reach the window. It was indeed her dragon and it was circling around the academy.

"I'm pretty sure it shouldn't be able to fly with those wings. The wingspan is only as long as the body. It should be much longer." Malicorne de Grandpré remarked.

"Shows what you know, Malicorne the Common Cold." Claude de Lorraine haughtily replied. "The dragon obviously flies. Therefore its wings are large enough."

"My name is Malicorne the Windward!" the boy protested only to be ignored.

Louise was far too busy staring at her familiar. Her dragon could fly. It was quite fast, too. That was awesome. The dragon had been impressive while on the ground, but seeing it fly was another thing altogether. It looked… majestic. Yes, majestic was the right word.

"I wonder what it is doing." one student said.

"It looks like it's searching for something." another added.

In that moment the dragon changed its flight path. Instead of circling the academy as a whole it approached the tower they were currently in. A gust of wind hit the students when it passed the window. The same event repeated itself twice while the dragon looped around the tower.

When the dragon was about to pass the window a fourth time it stopped. Its wings spread wide, the dragon hung in the air and looked through the window. Time seemed to stand still while Louise stared directly into inhuman eyes of burning crimson.

Then, without warning, her familiar turned around, quickly gaining distance. Higher and higher the dragon soared, flying in great spirals. Finally it stopped climbing and headed off into the distance.

Only then did Louise realize that she had no idea what her familiar was intending to do. _'Where is that stupid dragon going?'_

* * *

Irukuku was scared. She didn't know what was happening. It had been hours since the humans took her captive. Her captors had put her on a cart and moved her out of the city. Judging from the sounds she heard they were in a forest, but she couldn't see anything. The cart had stopped moving some time ago.

Once again she tried to break out, but the constraints remained unyielding. If she could only manage to transform she would bite the humans' heads off. Or rip them apart, she had not decided yet.

Suddenly the bag was removed. Blinking, Irukuku tried to make out anything against the sudden glare. They were indeed in a forest, in a grassy clearing to be more specific. Two horses were grazing a short distance away. One of the humans who had abducted her was trying to get a fire going.

Irukuku was picked up, but she couldn't see anyone doing it. Then she spotted the second human pointing a stick at her. She desperately tried to get free.

The human with the stick laughed. "Struggle all you want. The ropes are enchanted to be unbreakable."

She floated towards a log and was set down on the ground. "What do you want from me?" she asked, trying to not let her fear show.

"From you? Nothing." The man laughed again. "You, my dear, are only a trade good. You see, I and my friend Pierre here make our living by selling likely people to the Germanians. There's always a demand if you know the right people." He stepped closer and roughly grabbed her chin, forcefully moving her head left and right. "Especially for comely lasses like you. Some noble's bastard if the hair color is anything to go by. Or are you perhaps a noble in disguise? No, there's no way you would have left your wand behind."

She tried to bite off the man's fingers instead of answering, but he was quick enough to remove his hand in time. "You are a feisty one, aren't you? Well, no food for you in that case until you display better behavior." Laughing, the man stood up and walked towards his companion.

Without warning a lance of fire shot from the sky, enveloping the man and setting him aflame.

"Adrien!" the second man shouted. Before he could do anything a large golden shape dropped from the sky. Claws tore up the soil and the ground shook as the dragon stopped his momentum, his head striking forward. Immense jaws snapped shut audibly.

Irukuku could only stare as the severed head of the second man rolled towards her, the surprise still etched on the features. The horses went wild, but a tail swipe threw them against the trees with bone-crushing force before they could run off.

The burning human was still screaming and rolling on the ground. He stopped when the dragon stepped on him. Then the dragon turned towards her, looking at her in silence for a few moments with a curious expression.

Suddenly the ropes holding Irukuku unknotted and fell to the ground. She immediately transformed back into her real form. She didn't care that the clothes Tabitha had given her were ripped apart in the process.

Then she proceeded to tackle her rescuer, rubbing herself against him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. I thought I would never get free."

"You are welcome."

Irukuku stopped moving. The words had appeared directly in her mind.

"I am Faldegorn. Could you please explain to me what is going on here? Why is everything full of lesser spirits?"

* * *

Tabitha hurried towards the part of the forest where she had seen her familiar land a few minutes ago, followed by Louise's big golden dragon. Something was wrong. She didn't feel the familiar bond anymore.

Finally she arrived at the clearing where she had left her familiar. A small lake bordered it. The big golden dragon occupied most of the clearing. Her familiar was sitting next to it, chewing on what looked to be the carcass of a horse.

Without any warning Tabitha's staff was wrenched out of her hands. Then something heavy collided with her head and she knew no more.

An indeterminate amount of time later Tabitha awoke. Her head hurt. Then she realized she couldn't move. A rope was binding her body tightly. Her familiar had not moved and was now sleeping. It didn't seem as if she had made any attempt to help her. The golden dragon had his eyes closed, too.

Careful wriggling revealed that the rope didn't give in the slightest. She recognized it as an enchanted rope. Those were almost impossible to get out of. Fortunately she had contingencies for such a situation. She tried moving her hands slightly. Then she noticed that the small enchanted knife she had sewn into her clothing had been removed.

The golden dragon opened its eyes and moved its head closer to her. "Hello Tabitha, or should I say Charlotte Hélène d'Orléans, Chevalier of the Northern Parterre? It seems we need to have a serious discussion of your treatment of young dragons. But first, let me tell you something about angels."

"What?" she managed to get out. The deep voice was reverberating in her head, each word accompanied by images that clarified the meaning. Somehow she knew that the dragon was male. Then she realized that the dragon wasn't moving his mouth when he spoke.

"There are three interesting facts you should know. Firstly, sometimes, when someone has made such a tangled mess of her life that there are no sensible options left, an angel appears and offers a chance to make everything right. I should like you to think of me as such an angel."

"What?" Tabitha asked again, but her thoughts were whirling.

"A confused mind might be ordered. A madness might be dispelled. A mother might be made to recognize her child again."

Everything seemed to freeze. "You… can do that?"

"I am Faldegorn. I can do many things."

Tabitha began to tremble.

"Now, the second interesting fact about angels is that you only ever get one. Choose your response wisely."

"And the third fact?" Tabitha forced herself to ask.

The dragon revealed his teeth. It took Tabitha a moment to realize that he tried to imitate a human smile. "Why, the third fact is nothing comes without a price."

* * *

Louise determinedly marched through the forest. Her stupid familiar had to be somewhere nearby. How such a big dragon could be so hard to find she didn't know, but somehow it managed.

She had seen the dragon returning to the nearby forest from a classroom window two hours ago. It had taken an enormous weight off her mind. For a time she had feared her familiar had simply left. Unfortunately she had been unable to leave the class immediately. It would have left a bad first impression on the teacher, not to mention her classmates. Instead she had acted as if she knew precisely what her familiar had been doing.

Now she was trudging through the forest in an effort to find it. Trying to use the familiar bond had brought absolutely no results.

Suddenly the foliage rustled. Louise tensed, her wand ready to deal with whatever it was. Then someone stepped onto the path. She relaxed when she recognized Tabitha. Normally the girl's eyes were coldly impassive, but this time they seemed to swirl with emotion.

"Hello Tabitha. Do you know where my dragon is?"

The girl pointed in the direction she had just come from.

"Thank you."

Tabitha nodded. Then she left in the direction of the academy.

Louise shook her head. _'Strange girl.'_

Continuing on her way, Louise soon arrived at her destination. She blinked at the scene. Then she had to suppress giggles.

Her familiar was lying at the center of the clearing. Tabitha's familiar was there, too. The young wind dragon was sleeping and had cuddled up to her dragon. It was such a cute display. Well, at least as far as two dangerous magical beasts many times larger than her could be considered cute. What clinched it was the long-suffering look of injured dignity her familiar sent her.

Louise sat down under a tree near her familiar's head. "So, I see you made a friend."

The dragon snorted and exhaled a small cloud of smoke. She considered that a yes.

"I was worried. You can't simply disappear on me, you know."

Her familiar moved its head slightly. Following the direction, Louise spotted a heap of bones. Apparently her dragon had been away hunting. Louise was tempted to scold her familiar, but she remembered well what Mr. Colbert had told her about the temperament of dragons and how her mother dealt with her manticore. A lesser animal might be controlled and needed harsh discipline, but a powerful magical beast required a softer touch.

"Oh, so you were hungry? I guess that's okay then."

She could only hope her familiar didn't steal from some peasant. On the other hand, the golden dragon was remarkable enough that it would be easily tracked back to her once word spread. She supposed she would have to pay recompense for any damages it might have caused.

"How much do you eat anyway?" she asked. The dragon didn't react.

Dragons were expensive in upkeep, Louise knew. A cow per day or the equivalent weight in fish or pork, at least when the dragon was active. Less the more it slept. Considering her dragon's immense size it would need more food. Perhaps she would have to ask her parents for an increase of her allowance.

Louise yawned. The afternoon sun was so nice and the moss was comfortable. She was about to ask another question when her eyes shut and sleep claimed her.

* * *

Faldegorn looked thoughtfully at his sleeping summoner. The human's magic was _strange, _different from the other mages he had seen in this land. In fact, it looked more like a possession.

'_First things first.'_

Diving deep into the human's mind, Faldegorn explored memory after memory. It took him more than an hour to gain a sufficient appraisal of his summoner.

He considered revealing himself to Louise as he had done with Tabitha but discarded the thought. Different personalities required a different approach.

Looking out over the lake, Faldegorn considered his next steps. He was alone in a strange world with no way back. It would take him decades or perhaps even centuries until he learned enough to even try to leave this world using his own skills and find the way back to his own. Getting trapped in the void for a second time was an unacceptable outcome. He doubted he would be lucky enough to latch onto a convenient summoning spell again.

… _cold fire searing his body… empty eye sockets full of malice… fleshless claws ripping him apart…_

Faldegorn shuddered and shoved the memory aside. He didn't look forward to the next time he had to sleep. The last time had been dreamless due to exhaustion, but that reprieve wouldn't last.

His first priority was to secure a place in this strange world. He was vulnerable despite all his power. Individually humans posed little threat to him. Few were truly worthy of his notice. Still, there were so many of them, here and back home. It was no easy thing to slay a dragon, but it could be done.

Posing as a familiar until he had a better feel for this world seemed to be the best course of action although it was demeaning. He supposed he could simply relocate to an uninhabited area, but that would lose him all easy access to the knowledge of these strange mages. He had to be very close to read their minds. At least until he learned how to change his shape into that of a human like Irukuku had done. That was a neat trick.

Faldegorn turned his head to look at the blue dragon cuddled up to him. Such behavior was highly disturbing. Dragons simply didn't act that way. Her mind was a strange mix of proper dragonhood and that of an immature child of the lesser races.

The golden dragon had never been a child. Naïve, boisterous and somewhat ignorant to the ways of the world, certainly, but he had never been this immature. Starting from the day he hatched he had been on his own, only led by the memories his mother had shared with him during the years she guarded the eggs. The world wasn't a kind place for a young dragon.

'_To think that I am actually younger than Irukuku…'_

That was something he didn't plan to share with her anytime soon. Their kinds obviously matured differently. He was in his late fifties and would not even be fully grown for three or four decades. Irukuku was a little over two hundred years old and still considered a child by her kind. Interestingly their potential natural lifespan seemed to be not that different.

Faldegorn sighed. The young dragon had latched onto him as some sort of replacement family, calling him big brother. Now he had to keep her safe, too, at least until he found other Rhyme dragons. Considering the number of human mages in this world and their general view of sentient dragons (namely something to be killed for safety and alchemical ingredients) that would not be an easy task.

That meant he had to build up a powerbase. He was still a bit young to keep his own mages, but circumstances left him little choice. One mage-knight he had already acquired, at least if he managed to keep his end of the bargain.

His eyes fell on the sleeping Louise. She was a member of one of the most prominent families of this country, a useful ally to be sure. Playing the familiar would be aggravating, though. The human might think she had the right to command him. No one did. Even his dear departed friend had politely asked each time he wanted Faldegorn to carry him.

'_It will be interesting to see how long it takes her to figure out that I am not a dumb beast.'_

That left the question of her magic. To her people she was a failure. That was unacceptable. He wondered if he could do something about it.

Faldegorn's own native magic was still largely unformed. His current skills were mostly focused on clairvoyance, communication and the manipulation of a living creature's attributes, strengthening or weakening them in different ways. He could create other effects by simply throwing astral power at the problem, but that tended to empty even his enormous reserves at an alarming rate and the end results were always somewhat unpredictable.

Still, he knew much about other areas of magic. His dear departed friend had been the best in counter-magic in all of Aventuria. He had travelled far and wide to take care of all sorts of problems. Faldegorn almost always accompanied him and learned much. It had been enough to sever the bond that connected Irukuku and Tabitha. No dragon should be subservient to a mere human.

'_This really looks like a possession.' _Faldegorn mused while he examined Louise again.

He had only Tabitha and rather short glances at other mages as a comparison, but Louise's astral body looked radically different. The lesser spirits that seemed to be ever-present in this world shied away from touching her, too.

It was the same for Faldegorn's end of the familiar bond. The thing looked more like a pustule than what had connected to Irukuku. Thankfully it had been unable to properly connect to him. Just like the summoning spell he seemed not to be a valid target. His resistance to magic probably played a role, too. He had been unable to explore it fully in the available time, but he had already identified elements of emotional manipulation.

Faldegorn wasn't opposed to the binding of creatures as familiars. He knew of enough magical traditions that did it. What he objected to was using dragons for that purpose. Besides, the thing clinging to him looked really unhealthy, just like Louise's astral body.

'_Should I try to exorcise it?'_

He knew from Louise's memories that she couldn't cast spells successfully despite all attempts by herself and her family. Nobody seemed to know what was wrong. She obviously had magic. That indicated this wasn't a natural condition.

Perhaps it really was some rare form of possession. Apart from summoning familiars these mages didn't seem to have any experience in dealing with summoned creatures, like demons or elementals. Under these circumstances a possession could go unnoticed for a long time. Judging from what he could see it seemed to work on a finer-grained level than the mages' elemental magic. They probably couldn't even affect it.

If Faldegorn cured that problem it would be very useful for his plans.

'_More importantly, I owe the human a debt. Restoring her magic would be a suitable payment. I should at least try.'_

Coming to a decision, Faldegorn focused on Louise. Then he let his magic flow.

* * *

**PAIN**

Louise jerked awake. Her heart was beating a staccato and she was sweating profusely. Her familiar looked at her worriedly.

"Did I have a bad dream?"

She didn't remember anything. The pain was gone and she wasn't even sure she had really felt it. Ever so slowly her heartbeat returned to normal.

Her familiar was still looking at her. "I'm fine, really." Louise said, patting the dragon's head.

Then she stood up, stretching her back. Judging from the position of the sun she had slept for one or two hours. She would have to return to the academy soon if she didn't want to miss dinner.

'_There's something I have to do first. I can't delay it any longer.'_

This was the moment of truth. Louise screwed her eyes shut and recited an incantation, waving her wand.

Immediately a rhythm started pulsating through her entire being. She felt as though knew the rhythm from somewhere. With every word of the incantation, the rhythm grew stronger, filling her with warmth. It was as if something was born inside her body, searching for a destination.

It was so very different from every spell she had ever cast. The first time she had felt _something _had been when she cast the summoning spell, but it had been a disharmonious mess. This… this was different. It felt _right_… and it matched what everyone said casting a spell of their favored element felt like.

'_Is it really what I'm feeling? Me, who has always been despised for being a zero. Me, who was said to have no talent in magic by teachers, parents, sisters and students. Is this the real me?'_

With a flourish she finished the spell, feeling the energy rushing out of her. Then she waited with baited breath.

No explosion was forthcoming.

Slowly opening one eye, Louise took a peek. A small ball of fire was drifting in the air in front of her wand. The spell had worked perfectly. The fire winked out when Louise stopped supporting the spell.

'_It can't be.'_

Not believing in her success, Louise tried a wind spell. The rhythm was different and not as clear, but the spell still came easily. When she finished the last word a concentrated gust of wind rushed out, taking some of the leaves of the surrounding vegetation with it before it lost cohesion over the lake.

Tears began falling from Louise's eyes when she cast an earth spell. The rhythm was different again and harder to make out. Touching her wand to a pebble at her feet, Louise watched in silence when the stone turned into copper.

A fourth time Louise began chanting. She could barely see because of the tears, but that didn't stop her. A fourth rhythm began pulsing inside her body, as hard to grasp as the earth-aligned spell. When she finished a spray of water erupted from the tip of her wand.

Louise didn't know how long she simply stood there in silence, tears streaming across her face before falling to the ground. Her mind was completely empty.

It was only when her familiar gently nudged her with its head that she snapped back to reality. Falling to her knees, Louise cried even harder.

Her magic was working. _Her magic was working._ HER MAGIC WAS WORKING.

Louise couldn't stop crying. Finally, after years of trying she had everything she ever wanted. She had summoned a magnificent familiar. Her magic was working. She was no longer a zero.

* * *

Far away, in what the humans of Halkegenia called the Holy Land, a group of elves was in a state of panicked flight. Colors not seen in any rainbow were racing across the sky. The ground beneath their feet shook violently, great rifts opening and closing in the blink of an eye. The spirits of the world were screaming in agony.

More than once an elf escaped being swallowed only by a hair's breadth. They were almost at the coast with their waiting ship. No one had dared to bring it closer to what they had been sent to watch.

Suddenly a great chasm opened between their feet. The majority of the group managed to escape, but three elves fell into the abyss before they could reach safe ground. A fourth, the leader of the group, found himself alone on a rapidly crumbling spire with no way to escape.

"Go! Tell them what is happening here!" he shouted at the remainder of his group. "Shaitan's gate is going mad!"

* * *

**Author's note: **And here is the second chapter, the last I wrote before I lost interest in the story idea.

**What is The Dark Eye?** TDE is a German pen & paper role-playing game, the one with the largest market share in fact. Unfortunately it has never been translated into English apart from a few isolated books. Some people might know it from the old Realms of Arkania trilogy of RPG computer games or the newer Dark Eye: Drakensang series of games (which I didn't play).

Think somewhat generic fantasy world with books upon books of detailed background and somewhat problematic game mechanics.

**What/who is Faldegorn? **An NPC who first appeared in the tenth TDE adventure module 'Die Seelen der Magier/The souls of the mages' in 1988. He's a very young emperor dragon, meaning he is a heavily armored, flying, fire-breathing multi-ton monstrosity with instinctive mastery of telepathy and telekinesis and a whole lot of magical power. He is smarter than most humans, too. Mental development is not really comparable to humans, but he would probably count as a young teenager in some respects.

Uncharacteristically for dragons he sought out a human archmage to befriend and has lived with him for more than half his life. He can be counted as the perhaps most human-friendly dragon in the setting.

During the Borbarad campaign he got ganked by what is essentially the setting's only dracolich. The player characters are supposed to find him while he's dying and he lives just long enough to give them information. Obviously the last part didn't happen in this story.

**Why should we care? Why do you think it a good idea to put him into the FoZ setting? **Several reasons. While Faldegorn is powerful he isn't an army-killer. He has a lot of buff/debuff spells, but nothing to cause inordinate amounts of damage or outright mentally control people. A prepared group of ZnT mages would be able to take him down, albeit with difficulty. Extraordinary single opponents like Karin or high-end elves might manage it, too, as would cannons.

Secondly, his interaction with the setting. In many ways he and his magic are an out-of-context problem, but that isn't obvious to anyone. For most people he is simply an unusually large dragon. He can't assume a human form at the current time.

Thirdly, he makes a wonderfully impressive familiar for Louise. She gets (nearly) everything she ever wanted. How that is influencing her character and interaction with others is something worth exploring.

… and then ZnT canon events happen and there is no void haxx to take care of a certain invading army.

Faldegorn wouldn't be involved in any romance. He isn't interested in humans in that way (and would probably get violently sick when he realizes what all those human females intend when they are hitting on a hypothetical human form of his).


End file.
